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This paper discusses the developments in the renewable energy sector and their impact on jobs and training. It compiles and makes an analysis of how the available technologies in the market will further develop corresponding with global trends in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors, and the corresponding capacities that are needed to make the transition from fossil fuel-based consumption into another supported by renewable energy. The role of Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in developing skills and qualified professionals for jobs in the renewable energy sector is a key vector of analysis. [ADENE - Agência para a Energia, Renewables Academy AG (RENAC), and Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency (C2E2) were contributors to this report.]

This report provides an analysis of the labour market impacts of EU policy interventions designed to support the transition to a job-rich, low-carbon economy. The approach taken is innovative as it combines quantitative (econometric modelling) and qualitative (case study) methods to investigate the expected impact of sustainable energy policies on employment and skills demand, while providing insights for the development of effective policies for VET activities that allow skills demands to be met. This report claims that the climate and energy targets can be achieved at the same time as EU employment targets. However, to do so requires greater integration of climate and energy polices with measures to support employment and skills development across the EU. Recognising the complementarity of education and training policies to low-carbon strategies is essential to ensuring skills needs are met and that the transition process is not held back. The following annexes are included: (1) Glossary of terms; (2) Abbreviations; (3) References; (4) Model-based approach; (5) Detailed model outputs; (6) Sustainable energy policy context; and (7) Domain analysis.

This paper is one of several reports being prepared by the Energy Task Force on the impact of energy supply and cost trends on nonprofit educational institutions. This particular report focuses on the need to render educational facilities more energy-efficient through a program of capital investments focused on the rehabilitation of existing buildings. The report identifies the advantages offered by federal support of a building rehabilitation program that reduces both energy consumption and costs in the educational sector; it also outlines a phased investment plan for educational institutions involving progressive levels of technical sophistication and expenditure. Several tables that summarize survey data on the energy consumption and energy costs of 46 American colleges and universities are also included. Although the quantitative data applies specifically to institutions of higher education, most of the report applies equally to elementary and secondary schools as well. (Author/JG)

In 1987, a record 126,000 automobiles rolled off assembly lines each working day, and close to 400 million vehicles are used on the world's roads today. Prior to the 1970s the automobile's utility and sustainability were hardly questioned. A decade of oil price increases and worries about future fuel availability slowed automobile use somewhat, but in the 1980s improved energy efficiency and additional oil supplies combined to bring fuel prices down. This document calls for a fundamental rethinking of the role automobiles should play. It contains sections entitled: (1) "Whither the Automotive Age?" (2) "Depending More on Oil, Searching for Alternatives"; (3) "Enhancing Fuel Efficiency"; (4) "Reducing Emissions"; and (5) "Reshaping Transportation." (TW)

Electricity, which has largely supplanted oil as the most controversial energy issue of the 1980s, is at the center of some of the world's bitterest economic and environmental controversies. Soaring costs, high interest rates, and environmental damage caused by large power plants have wreaked havoc on the once booming electricity industry. Although policymakers around the world disagree vigorously about future trends and appropriate policies, virtually all acknowledge that a turning point has been reached. This document discusses: (1) past practices and trends leading to problems related to electric power generation and the electrical industry in the United States and foreign countries (including developing nations); (2) innovations and advances in the electrical industry related to the growth of electricity; (3) the rush to small-scale energy production and cogeneration (the combined production of heat and power), led not by utilities but by large industrial companies building their own power systems and small firms created to tap new energy sources such as wind power and geothermal energy; (4) the role of energy efficient products and practices as a power source; and (5) electricity's future. (JN)

The concept of sustainable economics not only examines how to produce what for whom but also how irreplaceable resources can be adequately conserved. Efficient and equitable economic mechanisms are central components of the concept. Analyzing issues complicated by politics, ideology, and nationalism, sustainable economics scholars attempt to explore what works to make resource use more efficient, how people behave in relation to resources, and how a country's economic system can alter its prospects for survival. In this paper an answer for survival is sought through an examination of the performance of various countries throughout the world in agricultural efficiency/food security, energy efficiency, environmental pollution, and equity. Central to these topics is the changing reliance on the market, which should have significant human and environmental consequences. It is also contended that efficient food production and energy consumption make the best indicators of progress toward sustainable economics. It is concluded that many countries are reorienting their economies but that over-optimism about efficiency is not justified in view of the many problems that remain. Ten tables and 4 figures illustrate the topics in question. (TRS)

Population growth and resource depletion are discussed. The need is stressed for policy makers to understand how population projections relate to the carrying capacity of the earth's basic biological systems. Because the earth's resources are limited, it is essential that policy makers in developed and developing nations be able to analyze the relationship between population and resources such as fisheries, forests, croplands, and grasslands. Economic and social stresses have already resulted in over-fishing, over-grazing, shrinking forests, urban slums, unemployment and, since 1974, annual double digit inflation. One major constraint to unlimited population growth is the oil supply. Petroleum is the principal fuel that powers the global economy. The changing petroleum supply necessitates not only vigorous conservation programs but also establishment of policy priorities which will assure adequate oil supplies for essential purposes such as food production. Population policies which have been devised to deal with population growth include family planning assistance and controls on rural-urban migration. The conclusion is that policy makers must devise ways of stabilizing population at a level far lower than currently projected in order to avoid deterioration of the earth's biological resource base and of the living standards of more and more people. (DB)

Focusing on the need for energy to sustain economic development on a long-term basis, the document examines energy options of the post-petroleum era in developing nations. Nuclear power and solar power are the most important among proposed alternative energy sources. Limited applicability of nuclear technology to the Third World is discussed. Problems include the need of most developing nations to seek foreign fuel to power nuclear plants, the difficulty of designing nuclear facilities that work equally well in different environments, and the problem of decommissioning radioactive facilities at the end of their usefulness. Energy-related research and experiments indicate that the most likely sources for new energy are solar (sunlight, wind, hydropower, and biomass). Factors which should encourage the Third World to harness solar energy sources include: a general abundance of sunlight, a dispersed and predominately rural population (which encourages decentralized energy resources), prohibitive cost of conventional energy, customary dependence on indirect solar sources such as firewood, and insignificant capital investment in petroleum-powered energy. Various objections and reservations concerned with the transition to solar energy are evaluated. The conclusion is that solar energy, the most viable energy source in the post-petroleum age, can contribute positively to economic development in both developing and industrialized nations. (Author/DB)

This publication examines various topics and issues related to the world oil situation. Major areas considered are: (1) the nature and consequences of the current oil glut; (2) a historical overview of the petroleum era (with analyses of the three time periods of 1900-1973, 1973-1979, and 1979-1981); (3) the geopolitics of oil (including data on oil production and revenues from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for 1973, 1980, and 1984; (4) the limits to world oil use (explained by graphs on world oil reserves and data on oil production, reserves, and reserves/production ratios of 12 major oil producing countries); (5) energy efficiency and new energy sources (listing major sources and consumption rates from 1973 to 1984); and (6) energy policy framework (with trend analysis and political implications). It has been recognized that opportunities have been increasing for many countries in energy self-sufficiency and oil dependency has diminished. (ML)

The post-World War II era is commonly described as the age of oil. Petroleum has fueled the industrialization process and has helped to raise living standards around the globe. At the same time, the current era has been referred to as the age of efficiency. Since 1973, it is estimated that the world saved far more energy through improved efficiency than it has gained from all new energy sources. This document deals with some of the possibilities for energy efficiency, particularly as it relates to environmental quality. It includes sections which deal with: (1) energy-wise buildings; (2) transportation challenges; (3) new potentials for industry; (4) research; (5) prices, taxes, and standards; (6) institutionalizing efficiency; and (7) the limits to energy growth. (TW)

This report examines various topics and issues related to worldwide energy productivity and energy conservation. Following an introduction, these issues are considered in 6 sections focusing on: (1) energy demand projections (with data on 1982 energy consumption in selected countries); (2) continued industrial efficiency gains (including data on energy use in steel manufacturing and electrical energy use in aluminum smelting in major producing countries, ranked by efficiency); (3) the saving of oil in transportation (with data on 1982 automobile fuel economy in selected countries); (4) improvements in the energy use in buildings and appliances; and (5 and 6) two contrasting views of the world energy future. The first view indicates that global energy demand will double by the year 2025 while the second, based on an understanding of energy conservation, shows how demand could be held to a much smaller increase, stretching nonrenewable energy supplies and facilitating the use of renewable resources. Governmental policy initiatives designed to achieve the desired conservation potential are addressed. The crucial policies to be implemented include market pricing of energy, elimination of subsidies for energy use, implementation of regulations to overcome market failures, provision of consumer information, research and development, and visible encouragement of conservation by leaders at all levels. (JN)

Deferring maintenance in small rural schools creates poor conditions that can affect the health and safety of everyone who uses the facility, damage the morale of students and teachers, impair their ability to teach and learn, and threaten the facility itself. Numerous recommendations for policy changes that affect maintenance are presented. A percentage of the replacement cost of the facility should be spent on maintenance. This should be required at the state and district level. Energy conservation and the use of safe materials should be promoted. State policies that require a minimum number of students per building, disqualify renovation projects based on arbitrary formulae of cost ratio to new construction, and promote sprawl should be eliminated. State and local building codes and regulations should be updated to reflect local needs and modern construction practices. Ongoing education for custodians and maintenance workers should be implemented along with a data bank of relevant information. School board members, educators, architects, contractors, and other decision makers should receive education in school maintenance. Regular inspections of school facilities should be required. Students and community members should be encouraged to participate in maintenance and repair projects. Renovation and conversion of existing facilities should be promoted, and feasibility studies of the cost of new construction, renovation, and lease or purchase of existing facilities should be required and discussed in open community forums. State and the federal government should be required to fund maintenance, particularly in poor districts. (Contains 46 references) (TD)